Following the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, both the American and Japanese propaganda machine spun into action, churning out dehumanizing propaganda materials about each other that instills fear and anger onto the civilians of the two respective countries. John Dower’s book, War Without Mercy, depicts the changing perceptions of the protagonists in the pacific theater. From the Japanese perspective, the Americans were the antagonist, while the American counterpart will view the Japanese as the antagonist. Therefore, the central premise was that racial fear and hatred, perpetuated by demonizing propagandas, was the determining factor on how both sides look at the “inferior” other. Dower asserted, “In this milieu of historical forgetfulness, selective reporting centralized propaganda, and a truly savage war, atrocities and war crimes played a major role in the propagation of racial and cultural stereotypes. The stereotypes preceded the atrocities, …show more content…
In one New York Times Magazine, under the heading of “Jap Bullies”, the author analyzed childhood neglect as the reason why the “Jap” soldier is a truculent and vengeful bully. From his birth, his mother pets him inordinately until the arrival of his little sister, after which she dismisses him as her chief interest and hands him over to the indifferent care of servants. An academic paper presented to the academic audience in America by Geoffrey Gorer, an English social anthropologist, argued, “In spite of having adopted many trappings of modern society, he went on, the country still retained a worldview more consonant with an isolated and primitive tribe than with a major industrial nation.” Gorer was especially concerned with the brutal, often sadistic aggressiveness of Japanese males at war, which he linked such behavior directly to ethics peculiar to the Japanese, reflected in their
It was no secret that when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, countless Americans were frightened on what will happen next. The attack transpiring during WW2 only added to the hysteria of American citizens. According to the article “Betrayed by America” it expressed,”After the bombing many members of the public and media began calling for anyone of Japanese ancestry။citizens or not။to be removed from the West Coast.”(7) The corroboration supports the reason why America interned Japanese-Americans because it talks about Americans wanting to remove Japanese-Americans from the West Coast due to Japan bombing America. Japan bombing America led to Americans grow fear and hysteria. Fear due to the recent attack caused internment because Americans were afraid of what people with Japanese ancestry could do. In order to cease the hysteria, America turned to internment. American logic tells us that by getting the Japanese-Americans interned, many
Okihiro, Gary Y. Whispered Silences: Japanese Americans and World War II. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1996.
John Dower's War without Mercy describes the ugly racial issues, on both the Western Allies and Japanese sides of the conflict in the Pacific Theater as well as all of Asia before during and after World War II and the consequences of these issues on both military and reconstruction policy in the Pacific. In the United States as well as Great Britain, Dower dose a good job of proving that, "the Japanese were more hated than the Germans before as well as after Pearl Harbor." (8) On this issue, there was no dispute among contemporary observers including the respected scholars and writers as well as the media. During World War II the Japanese are perceived as a race apart, a species apart referred to as apes, but at the same time superhuman. "There was no Japanese counterpart to the "good German" in the popular consciousness of the Western Allies." (8) Dower is not trying to prove how horrible the Japanese are. Instead, he is examining the both sides as he points out, "atrocious behavior occurred on all sides in the Pacific War." (12-13) Dower explores the propaganda of the United States and Japanese conflict to underline the "patterns of a race war," and the portability of racist stereotypes. Dower points out that "as the war years themselves changed over into an era of peace between Japan and the Allied powers, the shrill racial rhetoric of the early 1940s revealed itself to be surprisingly adaptable. Idioms that formerly had denoted the unbridgeable gap between oneself and the enemy proved capable of serving the goals of accommodation as well."(13) "the Japanese also fell back upon theories of "proper place" which has long been used to legitimize inequitable relationships within Japan itself."(9) After...
In the United States prejudices against Japanese descendants was common. However following the shocking attack on Pearl Harbor (November 1941) that resulted in 2,300 casualties, twelve sank ships, nine damaged ships, 160 destroyed aircraft, and 150 damaged ships, produced an unprecedented hatred of Japan. The disaster of Pearl Harbor’s bombing termed December 7th “a date which will live in infamy” quoted by Franklin D. Roosevelt (Foner 858). Ultimately lead to Congress declaration of w...
In 1941, the number of Japanese Americans living in the continental Unites States totaled 127,000. Over 112,000 of them lived in the three Pacific Coast states of Oregon, Washington, and California. Of this group, nearly 80% of the total resided in the state of California alone (Uchida 47). In the over imaginative minds of the residents of California, where the antipathy towards the Asians was the most intense, the very nature of the Pearl Harbor attack provided ample-and prophetic-proof of inherent Japanese treachery (Uchida 68). As the Imperial Army chalked up success after success on the Pacific front, and also as rumors of prowling enemy subs ran rampant throughout, the West Coast atmosphere became charged with the fear that there was an impending invasion. They had an unbelievable suspicion that Japanese Americans in their midst were organized for a coordinated undermining activity (Uchida 90). For the myriad of anti-Oriental forces and the influential agriculturists who had long been casting their eyes on the coastal area of the richly cultivated Japanese land, a superb opportunity ...
Sabin, Burritt. "The War's Legacy [sic]: Dawn of a tragic era", Japan Times, February 8, 2004 (
John Dower's War Without Mercy describes the ugly racial dimensions of the conflict in the Asian theater of World War II and their consequences on both military and reconstruction policy in the Pacific. "In the United States and Britain," Dower reminds us, "the Japanese were more hated than the Germans before as well as after Pearl Harbor. On this, there was no dispute among contemporary observers. They were perceived as a race apart, even a species apart -- and an overpoweringly monolithic one at that. There was no Japanese counterpart to the 'good German' in the popular consciousness of the Western Allies." (8) Conservative readers, don't fret - Dower isn't making this argument to exonerate the Japanese for their own racism or war crimes -- after all, "atrocious behavior occurred on all sides in the Pacific War." (12-13) Rather, Dower is exploring the propaganda of the US-Japanese conflict to delineate the "patterns of a race war," the cultural mechanisms of "othering," and the portability of racial/racist stereotypes. For "as the war years themselves changed over into into an era of peace between Japan and the Allied powers, the shrill racial rhetoric of the early 1940s revealed itself to be surprisingly adaptable. Idioms that formerly had denoted the unbridgeable gap between oneself and the enemy proved capable of serving the goals of accommodation as well." (13)
The bombing on Pearl Harbor impaired America, which brought an increase to racial tension. However, this impairment brought all nationalities together. “Thirty-three thousand Japanese Americans enlisted in the United States Armed Forces. They believed participation in the defense of their country was the best way to express their loyalty and fulfill their obligation as citizens” (Takaki 348). Takaki proves to us that the battle for independence was grappled on the ends of enslaved races. The deception of discrimination within the military force didn’t only bewilder Americans that sensed the agony of segregation, but also to the rest of world who honored and idolized America as a beam of freedom for
World War II was a time of deliberate hate among groups of innocent people who were used as scapegoats. Japanese-Americans were persecuted due to the fact that they looked like citizens of Japan, who had attacked the United States on December 7th, 1941 at the naval base, Pearl Harbor. This hatred toward the group was due to newspapers creating a scare for the American people, as well as the government restricting the rights of Japanese-Americans. The Japanese-Americans were mistreated during World War II for no other reason than being different. These men, women, and children were loathed by the American public for looking like the people of the Japanese army that had attacked the United States. These people were only hated by association, even though many had come to the United States to create a better life for their family.
22. Muller, Eric,Free to Die for Their Country: The Story of the Japanese American Draft Resisters in World War II . 2001, University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition
The Munson Report investigated the loyalty of Japanese Americans and their likeliness to revolt and overwhelmingly found that they were loyal. The report also describes Japanese-Americans as having “considerably weakened […] loyalty to Japan ” and are now thought of as “foreigners to Japan” (Munson Report). The report went as far as saying that “there will be no armed uprising of Japanese. There is no Japanese ‘problem’ on the Coast” (Munson Report).
American society, like that of Germany, was tainted with racial bigotry and prejudice. The Japanese were thought of as especially treacherous people for the attack on Pearl Harbor. The treachery was obviously thought to reside in ...
America’s well–entrenched racism against Asians resulted in enhanced levels of brutality against Japanese soldiers, when compared to the other enemy soldiers they encountered during World War II. Legislation in the United States demonstrated racism against Asians for decades. Asian immigrants and citizens fought these discriminatory rulings, only to receive opposition against their plight. Persistent racial discrimination towards the Japanese caused a sense of resentment of Japanese soldiers in the United States military. During several campaigns, American General Infantry displayed ruthlessness against Japanese conduct of war.
One example of the way the Japanese Americans were treated inhumanely was throughout the war the Japanese Americans were trying their hardest to protest against the way they were being treated in the internment camps. The Japanese Americans wanted and insisted to be recognize as loyal American citizens (Library of Congress). To add on to that the conditions at the internment camps, they were notably difficult and traumatic, leaving the worried mothers with only a few options but to provide not only emotional support, but also physical support. While all the Japanese Americans could do was hope for the best (Dusselier [Page 12). Along with, the abuse the Japanese Americans in the eyes of the Americans viewed them as aliens forcing abuse on them whether it b...
The media had an immense effect on many individuals during the war. The public were informed about the war's progress through the media, television, and newspapers. Consequently, much of their opinions and beliefs about war and American soldiers were shaped by how the media viewed the war. Photographers were very influential in forming, changing, and molding public opinion. Some photographers were interested in showing the suffering and anguish of the soldier, whereas others wanted to emphasize the dignity, strength, and fearlessness of the American soldier. Those at home had no experience of how the soldier lived or what he had to deal with during the war. The media built up a stereotype of the soldier's life. These stereotypes are